Crossword Genius

Sorry friends upset hotel being messy (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

slapdash

'messy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'sorry friends upset hotel' is the wordplay.
'sorry' becomes 'sad' ('sad' can be a synonym of 'sorry').
'friends' becomes 'pals' (pal is a kind of friend).
'upset' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'sad'+'pals'='sadpals'
'sadpals' written backwards gives 'slapdas'.
'slapdas'+'h'='SLAPDASH'

'being' is the link.

(Other definitions for slapdash that I've seen before include "Quick, careless" , "Perfunctory" , "Blow followed by sprint - that's careless" , "Messy" , "Careless - haphazard" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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